1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a front spoiler apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a front spoiler apparatus for a vehicle of which the protruding amount is varied actively in line with a vehicle speed.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a vehicle receives air-resistant force through collision with atmospheric air while it travels wherein the air-resistant force is classified as a drag and lift. The drag is the resistant force that acts opposite to the motion direction of a vehicle body that is collided directly with air while it travels and the lift is the force that lifts a vehicle body by pressure difference created between top and bottom of a vehicle body while it travels. Accordingly, attachments are necessary for a vehicle so as to improve the aerodynamic performance and fuel efficiency by reducing the drag and the lift, and a spoiler belongs to the attachments, which serves to vary the air flow and is called as an air spoiler.
Meanwhile, a front spoiler installed on a front of a vehicle (which is called as other names such as nose spoiler, air dam, air dam skirts or the like) serves to reduce the drag and improve aerodynamic performance by decreasing the amount of air that is introduced into an under body through a front bumper when a vehicle travels at a high speed.
In a front spoiler apparatus disclosed in a conventional art, an upper panel is fixed to a bottom of a front bumper in a road surface direction, a lower panel is rotatably connected to an end of the upper panel through a hinge, and the lower panel and the front bumper are connected through a spring wherein the drag is reduced through the lower panel while a vehicle travels without obstacles on a road surface thereby to improve driving safety and fuel efficiency and when there is an obstacle on a road surface, the lower panel rotates in the opposite direction of the travelling direction when the lower panel contacts the obstacle (over-speed prevention step, recess or the like) and returns after passing through the obstacles.
However, according to the conventional art, the lower panel constructing a spoiler contacts repeatedly the obstacle on a road surface thereby to produce noise and cause breakage damage due to durability decreasing.
In another front spoiler apparatus disclosed in another conventional art, it is provided with a controller for receiving signals regarding a driving speed of a vehicle, a motor that is driven by the control signal from the controller, a gear that is operated with power transmitted from the motor, and a movable plate (spoiler) that rotates through the operation of the gear wherein the movable plate is protruded to a lower side of a front bumper or inserted into the inside of the front bumper by controlling the operation of the motor in accordance with the speed of a vehicle.
However, according to the conventional front spoiler apparatus as configured above, it needs actuators such as a controller, a motor, a gear and the like and thus its weight increases deteriorates fuel efficiency and increases cost.
In another conventional front spoiler apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, an air input hole 2 is formed through a front bumper 1, a support wall 4 having a cavity 3 inside the front bumper 1 corresponding to the air input hole 2 is formed, and a spoiler 6 provided with a water pressure plate 5 in the cavity 3 is installed through a spring 7 wherein the spoiler 6 moves to an upper side of the cavity 3 by elastic force of the spring 7 at a low speed to reduce the protruding amount of the spoiler 6, and the spoiler 6 overcomes the force from the spring 7 and is protruded to a lower side of the bumper at a high speed since the pressure of a driving wind (i.e. the wind to be generated against the car body when driving) is transmitted to the water pressure plate 5.
However, according to the conventional configuration as described above, the air input hole 2 is formed through the front bumper 1 and thus its aesthetic appearance is poor and there is a limitation to designing the front bumper 1 due to the air input hole 2.
Further, when a vehicle passes through the obstacle (recess) on a road surface while the vehicle travels at a low speed or when a wind pressure applies to the spoiler 6 while a vehicle travels at a high speed, the spoiler 6 vibrates in accordance with an elastic deformation of the spring 7. At this time, there is no configuration for damping the vibration of the spoiler 6 in the conventional apparatus and thus the vibration of the spoiler 6 is transmitted through the support wall 4, thereby producing vibration noise.
Additionally, according to a conventional front spoiler apparatus, the spoiler 6 that is protruded to a lower side of a bumper returns rapidly while it moves upward through the elastic force of the spring 7 when a vehicle brakes suddenly while the vehicle travels at a high speed, and at this time the water pressure plate 5 of the spoiler 6 collides directly and strongly with the support wall 4, thereby producing noise and weakening durability.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.